From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
Mr Zabel's two Biology I classes I observed vary greatly from each other. It seems as though all of the quiet students got grouped together in a small classroom during second period. His last period class is his larger class with over half the class being as my high school teacher labeled me, motor mouths. The day I visited he introduced acids and bases and expected the class to read about them for homework and then they would do a lab. His first class all listened intently while he went over the notes on the board. Some took additional notes on the notes they took for homework, filling in the parts they missed, while others just wrote down what they were told to do. There was little talking and goofing off. Last period was a whole different environment. The class size was large and he had already separated a few students giving them assigned seats. While he went over the notes there were many people talking, some complained about how he didn't check the homework because they did it, and others were complaining they already learned this form the homework. He had them make a table. When he did this his first period class didn't bat and eye, however in this class one student decided he needed a ruler, which progressed into every one needed a ruler.
When Mr. Zabel teaches he sits at the front of the classroom so he can control the computer. He doesn't walk around unless the notes do not need to be moved. The classroom is in rows and he walks the outside square. When it was time to do the lab he had them move from their desks to lab benches on the outside of the room. While working on the lab both Mr. Zabel and I floated from bench to bench. He sat with each bench at least twice, always making sure they were on task.
Because I can't sit and take notes for an entire hour without talking or questions, as seen in college classes, it is very important to my teaching that student be engaged. Whether it be questions to get them thinking or putting them in small groups. I used to hate group work but now I see how my ideas grow from working with a group and having the ability to bounce ideas off each other generating new ones. I prefer a modified KWL chart where the students work as a group to list when they know about a particular topic and what they want to learn or have questions about. This gets the students talking about the topic and it allows me to know what I really need to focus on in the lesson. However, with group works comes the ability for students to get off topics very quick. In college, I still do it. It makes me aware that the teacher must constantly be walking around and aware of which groups aren't using the time to work on the assignment. I know that the second a teacher is behind me I need to stop talking about whatever it is that I am and get back on topic. I've been in classrooms where teachers left us to group work and sat at the front of the room which let me talk to my groupmates about whatever I wanted. For group work to do its job a teacher must constantly be moving from group to group, and as much as I hated it being done to me, calling out those students that keep talking. What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?Observation at high school placement. Lesson: Guided review of cell structures and organelles, based on a narrated filmstrip. Students have worksheets with spaces for structure, function, location. Teacher must stand at filmstrip projector to advance the narrator. Images are all static micrographs. Teacher stops the filmstrip every 30 seconds or so as narrator describes new organelle and dictates notes that students copy to worksheet. Projector was not set up when students arrive. Teacher asks a student to set up while she takes attendance and deals with hall pass requests. Students delay filling seats and interact until chided by teacher. One student takes another’s lunch and puts it into the classroom refrigerator, unnoticed by teacher. She does notice when the second student tries to retrieve his lunch and tells him not to open the fridge. He tries to explain but she refuses to listen. He simply waits until she is distracted again and opens the fridge and takes his lunch. Students seem to take little interest in copying down the material, but do so apathetically. Late arrivals are lost, having missed the first several notes; instruction to the whole class stops as the teacher helps them catch up. This delay increases the restlessness of some students. Quiet conversations rise in volume. Teacher does attempt to make connections to prior knowledge or relevant experience, but these are limited to structural similarities (“these look like pancakes” “these look like tubes”). She occasionally moves to the screen to point out details. The students are generally respectful and complete their seatwork, but it is a dry, dry class. The teacher’s only movement is to the screen and back to the projector, since she must manually control it. All requests for responses are to the entire class, and call outs are accepted. Thus the same students seem to always respond. I plan on avoiding the death drone by moving about the class. The images would certainly be available online, and could be presented in Power Point, with a clicker, allowing the teacher to move about the room – as long as they had the information in hand. No call outs would be permitted. Students would be asked by name to respond to my questions. Students would be told they might be called on next, and to pay attention. Row identity would be fostered, so correct answers would create positive gains for the group the student belonged to. Since I would be moving about the room, physical proximity would allow me to monitor student effort and reduce unproductive interactions.
Observation/Reflection #2: Eyes in the Back of Your Head: Observing Student Actions
From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher. What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement. How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
Today, I was put in a very good position to complete this journal. I alternately sat in the back of class watching a video or class business being conducted, observed and graded during a test period, and got to see how different classes acted together in an entirely different setting. All in all, out of the many middle school placements I have been in, I can say this is a great team of teachers and students. Despite being young adolescents, every single student I met was friendly and respectful--to everyone. Each class I observed knew and followed class procedure without being asked; if they were misbehaving and were reprimanded, the student would immediately get back on task and try to focus. If the lights were off and the video was on, the room was quiet. There wasn’t even any sort of degradation of behavior as you got towards the back of the room away from my CT. If anything, my CT walks around and checks in enough with her students to discourage any sort of bad behavior. The worst thing her classes do on a regular basis (according to the CT) is losing all the handouts she gives them, even when she three-hole punches them and requires a binder with dividers and allows them time in class to get organized. She was anything but stationary, walking in with her class, to a private desk to get materials, to the podium, in front of the podium, and weaving in and out of the tables and desks. While she was doing this, she was handing back work and giving general feedback as to the quality; it seems as though most of the class is working well with the material, but handwriting is an issue. If they were taking a test, she walked around to meet with students who needed clarification. During the video, she watched with them and asked questions, as it was on a topic they had just finished.
A special sort of class activity happened today as well. My CT and the social studies teacher on the team decided to bring their students outside for twenty minutes to get some fresh air and get rid of energy after testing all morning. They all were quiet and orderly walking through the halls, even maintaining control once they were out of the school and on the tennis courts. This was key, as we unexpectedly encountered the superintendent and the vice superintendent walking through the halls on the way to a meeting; on the spot, we decided this activity was for team building. So we ran relays. The teachers even participated on their class’s team, which was awesome.
I think the key to managing a class is keeping students interested and engaged, as Teach Like a Pirate stresses. My students being engaged is very important to me; I know they’re required to attend my class, but that doesn’t give me the right to waste their time. And if they are not going to like science, or even appreciate it, the least I can do is build a good rapport and plan interesting activities. My CT demonstrated some good ways to keep students engaged, like not staying still while discussing things, or even when they are doing quiet independent work. Managing to keep a whole class interested during an outdated video is possible if you're willing to blur the teacher/student lines and participate with your students:watch the video, point out cool things, and soon. If I’m checking in individually with students, I can direct feedback based on both performance and behavior as soon as possible.When combined with respect, engagement can really drive the atmosphere of the classroom, as well student behavior. I was surprised how happy all the students at this middle school seemed and how inclusive students were to each other if someone looked sad or left out; I attribute this to the consistent good behavior of all classes I saw today. The team community also seemed strong, as this was consistent even when the number of kids doubled and you took away all the structure a classroom has. Location: Lincoln Middle School Class: 6th grade general science Date of Visit: September 30, 2013
Observation/Reflection #2: Eyes in the Back of Your Head: Observing Student Actions From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
Observation:
The way the classroom in which I observed is arranged, there is little room in the back of the classroom. I instead took a seat off to the side in the front of the room. However, because of the layout of the room, I could still see all the students in the classroom. At the beginning of the class, students worked diligently on their warm-up exercise until they were finished. Some of the students who finished early sat quietly and patiently, but others started to fidget and doodle in their notebooks. They were not, however, disruptive to others. When the teacher reviewed the answers to the exercise, all of the students were paying rapt attention and correcting any mistakes on their papers with their correcting pens. After this warm-up, the students watch a brief video introduction to their next laboratory exercise regarding paper planes. While most of the students paid attention to the video clip, a couple of girls in the very back of the room began to whisper to one another. The teacher did not notice this activity going on, but the video clip was less than three minutes long so the misbehavior did not last for an extended period of time. The teacher then explained the purpose of the laboratory exercises, and the students filled out a laboratory report packet with a purpose statement and background information. During this activity, the teacher moved about the room answering student questions and regulating any misbehavior that occurred. In general, the students were very well-behaved and stayed on task. Either than a few comments out of turn here and there, the overall behavior of the class was outstanding.
Reflection:
Student engagement is crucial to my view of how I will teach. As I have mentioned in past written assignments for this course, my goal as a teacher is to keep students engaged and actively learning at all times, from the beginning of the period until the end. This does not mean conducting a boring lecture from the time the first bell rings until the time the second bell dismisses them. I hope to keep students engaged by involving them in fun, interesting, and exciting laboratory activities that help them to learn important scientific concepts while also enjoying being in my class. In order to encourage student engagement, I will use these activities to vary my instruction so as not to make my class boring or predictable. I also aim to be just as involved with the activities as the students are, circulating through the classroom working with individual students or small groups in order to simultaneously manage classroom behavior and supplement my instruction in an informal, personal manner. The most successful teachers that I have observed have employed these techniques and the students have almost always responded well. I hope to one day emulate my cooperating teacher and those others who practice a teaching philosophy that is similar to mine.
During this visit I observed that my CT controls his room more in the lack of rules enforcement than in a strict adherence. My CT has one Golden rule don't talk when he's talking/ teaching. There are other rules, cell phones may be either out on the desk or put away in a pocket or backpack, this one gets violated most often mostly by students in the back rows of the room. My CT stays at the front of the room when he is giving a content lecture. He is more mobile and keeps active tabs on students during group work. For the most part students are on task when working in groups. If they aren't a simple word that what they are doing or discussing is not biology will get them back on task in the short term anyway. My CT engages his students with a video clip, website or question for them to find the answer for about the content that ties it to their lives. He is very much a " I don't want to be the heavy duty rules enforcer". He avoids putting himself in situations where he would need to chaperon school dances and outings. It's not that he doesn't care about the kids he just almost wants to be their friend as well as their teacher..
For the way that I hope to teach engaging the students is very important to me. It is my hope that we can become partners in the learning journey. This is something that I don't feel from my CT. He cares about his students but to me it feels like his passion is gone. I plan to use my proximity and feedback to praise students who are doing good work, and to give a gentle "reminder" to those who have gotten off task to return to it.
School: Westerly High School
CT: Mrs. Malone
Class: Honors Bio, Juniors
Observation: The students in Mrs. Malone’s class are generally well behaved and pay attention to what she is saying. Twice I noticed students taking out their phones, but both times they just checked something for a second and then immediately put it back in their pocket before I could say something to them. The one time a student was on his phone for a prolonged time Mrs. Malone asked him, “What is so important on your phone?” The student looked embarrassed and quickly replied, “Nothing more important than what you are teaching, sorry.” Other than that, the only distractions I noticed was the students getting slightly off topic while they were doing lab work. However, they would only talk about non-science related things while they were waiting for tests to finish. They also continued to do other work while they chatted. Furthermore, many students volunteered information when Mrs. Malone would ask a question, and took pride in getting the correct answers.
While observing I did not notice my CT using any special strategies to keep the students engaged, because the students were generally engaged already. The one time Mrs. Malone had to get a student back on track she did not even have to tell the student to stop using his phone, but instead simply pointed out that she knew he was on the phone. Mrs. Malone did not utilize the whole class space during her more lecture centric lesson. Instead she stayed in the front of the room, but did pace back and forth, never sitting down. During the lab portion of the class, she did circulate the room, checking on each group in turn.
Reflection: I was very surprised at how engaged the students of Mrs. Malone’s class were. In my past experience there were always at least two or three kids who blatantly did not pay attention. This was not the case in Mrs. Malone’s class, where even students who got distracted did not stay distracted for more than a moment. Perhaps the reason for this is that I was observing one of her honors class. I would expect that if I had observed her CP class on that day they would not have been as well behaved, though they may be as engaged also. The students of her elective were just as focused as the students in her honors bio class. Also, I do not think Mrs. Malone was wrong in her decision to not circulate the whole class for her lecture. The way her class is set up, there are only two rows of tables that have students at them and they are both close to the front of the room where Mrs. Malone was teaching.
In my opinion, student engagement is extremely important. I want my class to be comfortable enough with each other so that class discussions are a common occurrence. To facilitate this, I will use a technique that I have seen often at college, including in this class. I will occasionally arrange all of the seats in the class in a circle and have a class discussion. In this way the students can become more comfortable with each other, and it will also be much easier to see if a student is not paying attention. To encourage student participation I will utilize humor to poke fun at students I catch not paying attention. However, humor can only go so far, and if the student persists with the negative behavior more serious measures will need to be taken. Also, I will arrange my class in a way that lets me walk around the room as I teach. I feel that if the teacher walks close to each student throughout the lesson, it will encourage students to pay attention, as opposed to if the teacher is never close to the students in the back of the room. Observation/Reflection #2: Eyes in the Back of Your Head: Observing Student Actions
From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
Barrington Middle School
Mr. Borgueta
General Science Grade 7
Observation:
As soon as students enter Mr. Borgueta’s classroom they understand what the expectations and classroom norms are. They walk in, get settled and start their 3-2-1 assignment, which is usually a question or two to get the students oriented to the topic. Throughout this time there may be a little movement and a little noise. However, for the most part all students are focused with their heads down and a pencil in hand writing. If any of the students are struggling to follow the classroom norm, Mr. Borgueta quickly redirects them to the task. After about 5 to 7 minutes he discusses the 3-2-1 assignment. He asked questions for students to answer and more than 50% of the class raised their hands to participate. Once this concluded, he had students work in groups of four to design a slingshot experiment. As students were busy working on the lab he called them up individually to provide them with feedback from a previous assignment. Once the last student’s paper was handed out I observed Mr. Borgueta walking around the classroom to each table to read what student’s were writing in their notebooks and to correct any mistake he saw. The pattern below is approximately the type of paths he can take to check student’s work. Although the arrows point in one direction, Mr. Borgeuta could be found moving around either way up and down the aisles.
Reflection:
For Mr. Borgueta’s classroom not many strategies besides a quick reminder of the task is necessary to keep students on track. This is because from day 1 he has set up a classroom norm that while in his class students are going to work hard. By managing the class in this way from day 1 a culture has been made where students expect to work in his class and are okay with this. However, this is not just an all work no play type of classroom. If students work hard Mr. Borgueta will give them some time off at the end to get ready for their next class or to chat with each other. Additionally, the more work students can accomplish through the written part of the lab, the sooner students get to go outside and test their slingshot apparatuses for their experiment. It is the combination of a culture based on hard work mixed with fun activities that Mr. Borgueta engages his students. At no point have I heard “man this stinks” or “why do we have to do this.” Even though Mr. Borgueta isn’t dressing up for his students, they still get their work done and have fun. I find that student engagement is key to teaching. Without engagement students will not pay attention and if this occurs then they are not learning. Therefore, I hope to manage my classroom in a similar way with this combination of a culture and engaging activities for students to do. For my classroom, I would like to employ many different strategies to encourage student engagement. Having students perform hands on labs, playing different and yet engaging videos, and creating lessons that smoothly transition from one part to the next are just a few strategies. Additionally, I could possibly bring in outside resources, (scientists or those in a similar field to my topic) as well as go on field trips to make those real world connections. By moving around the room and making sure all students are understanding the material presented is how I will use my proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior. Essentially, I would like to make my classroom a student oriented classroom where students know I want them to succeed.
From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
Observation:
I watched Ms. Maillet in her Urban Ecology course. Ms. M's class was set up in columns of benches as she was testing in other classes; she normally keeps the class in groups. Ms. M spoke from the front of the room for a short while before assigning the students to group work. While Ms. M was talking and lecturing to start the class most of her students in the left column, center (up to the 2nd row) as well as a group in the right column that sat close to the front were sitting intently and paying attention. There were two girls in the very back of the center row not paying attention, sharing a small conversation while snacking on some chips. The two boys in front of them as well as a boy in the right column weren't really paying much attention and kept having a side conversation. Ms. M tried to redirect one of them in particular, but this only was a quick fix as he would quickly pick up where he left off. Once Ms. M left them with seat work to do things unraveled a bit further. The seat work was to be done in groups. Most of the groups ended up having conversations off topic. Some students began pulling out snacks, cell phones, and mp3 players. The one group that was most attentive (later found out they were honors students) ended up getting the work done and talked among themselves. Some students simply never transitioned into group work. Ms. M responded to this by eventually approaching the groups and seeing if they needed further help. Otherwise, as kids finished up or for those that decided not to do any work, they broke off into small conversations, further snacks, and further texting or gaming on their cell phones.
Reflection:
I view student engagement very highly in how I want to approach teaching. This was the first time in a high school observation and this made me fairly nervous as it conflicted with my opinion of how the classroom should be managed. At PHS, eating and using the cell phone isn't allowed in the classroom. The fact that Ms. M only made feeble attempts to stop her students from this (saying one needs to pick their battles sometimes) and letting it go for the most part was a bit concerning. I didn't like how the situation was controlled and wonder how it will effect once I take over the following semester. This was an elective course however and I most likely won't be placed in charge of it. I am hoping her other courses aren't like it. To encourage student engagement I plan to use Do Nows, try to incorporate hooks, have classroom expectations known as well as what happens when they aren't followed, as well as use techniques like proximity and monitoring to lower the likelihood of students from acting out. I like the idea of using proximity as it can be more subtle. The classroom seems to be set up in two distinct ways, either groups or columns. When in columns the classroom is difficult to walk around and utilize proximity. However, when in groups it can be easily navigated and used properly.
Visit #2
October 2, 2013
Chariho Middle School
CT: Stephen Cormier
7th/8th Grade Science
Observation/Reflection #2: Eyes in the Back of Your Head: Observing Student Actions
From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
Observation:
On my second visit to my middle school cooperating teacher, class periods were shortened due to NECAP testing and each class only had time for one activity. The seventh graders made hypotheses regarding the classic demonstration of a hot soda can being put into an ice bath. The eighth graders reviewed use of topographical maps as a warm-up and then began drawing diagrams of other things that demonstrate one of the six forces investigated in the six stations from last week. As my cooperating teacher led discussions or explained directions, he was very active and continually moving about the room. In this way, students were never isolated in the back of the classroom for long. All the students quietly wrote in their science notebooks or contributed to the discussion, from those in the back to the ones up near the front. Anytime a student was distanced from the teacher, postures were more slumped but they still paid attention. Some quiet side conversations occurred, and one boy was reading a book, but all instances were quickly stopped by my cooperating teacher, demonstrating his "withitness" and effective classroom management.
Reflection:
My cooperating teacher uses technology (primarily a Smart Board) and various demonstrations to engage his students into the content of the lesson. Warm-ups and homework are easily pulled up on to the screen and reviewed right in front of the class. If my cooperating teacher wants to illustrate a point or write ideas, he can like a traditional board. During discussions he is continually moving around, talking at each table and to most students. My cooperating teacher will ask questions about concepts to help recall or ask students what they think in order to asses student knowledge. I love the idea of a conversational flow in a whole-class discussion. I want students to feel like participants and the doers for where we need to go in a lesson. As a future teacher, I want to facilitate and not dictate, similar to what my cooperating teach accomplishes with his students.
Part of his questions came after a demonstration. This was done so he could discover and clear up possible misconceptions. The demonstration provided a paradigm changing experience for students with preconceived notions about items going from very hot to very cold in a short period of time. By clearing up student misconceptions prior to the demonstration and connecting the experience to new knowledge of air density and atmospheric pressure, my cooperating teacher facilitated the construction of new knowledge for his students, like what was suggested in "Taking Science to School."
My cooperating teacher may be confined to science kits and middle school curriculum, and therefore does not have the range of freedom in creativity like David Burgess in "Teach Like a Pirate," but he is still able to reach all his students and provide engaging lessons. And if students are not engaged in what they are learning, they are not gaining learning experiences.
Classroom Diagram:
Yellow = door
Blue = student seat
Green = teacher area (desk, lab bench, storage)
Black = board (either chalk board or SmartBoard)
Purple = CT's path around classroom (asterisks mark start and finish)
Diagram of CT's classroom
Deborah Husak Observation/Reflection #2: Eyes in the Back of Your Head: Observing Student Actions From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
The second class of the day is 10th grade college preparatory biology. I observed a lesson introducing the properties of water molecules, acids and bases. The CT was in the front of the room for most of the lesson. The students came in and sat in new seating which they had chosen earlier in the week. The front of the classroom had three large tables with 8 chairs around each table. A group of 8 boys sat in the table farthest from the teacher. Only 5 students sat in the middle and another 7 (boys and girls) sat around the third table. I sat behind the all boys table which was farthest from the teacher.
The material was new to most of the students yet vital to their understanding of much of the content for the rest of the year. The CT wanted students to have accurate diagrams in their science notebooks depicting the chemical formulas of water, acids and bases, and their ions. She spent the lesson at the front of the room showing the students molecular diagrams of each example and having them copy them into their notebooks. She frequently cued the students about specific information that needed to be in their notebooks. Most of the class remained engaged except for the two boys sitting farthest from the CT at the end of the group table directly in front of me. Student S was restless for most of the lecture. He frequently did not follow the directions of the CT such as putting accurate chemical names on the diagrams. He was the only one to leave the room to use the bathroom after asking permission twice (the first time was denied because the CT was explaining a process to the class). He frequently picked up the ruler he had been given (for making lines in his science notebook) and struck his friend with it. The other student next to him reminded him that he was not being respectful but he continued his behaviors. After class, I asked my CT to tell me about student S. She knew that he had been restless and was considering changing his seat but also said that he had scored one of the highest grades on their last quiz.
Student engagement is critical to their understanding of the content. I hope to engage students by making the content as interesting as possible. Sometimes the goal may not be as amendable to fun as other classes. The lesson on acids and bases was needed to make sure every student had the prerequisite knowledge for an upcoming lab. Unfortunately, this lesson did not have a lot of variety and students were getting restless toward the end. I think one way to keep all students engaged could have been to involve students more in the giving of the lesson. Having students, especially restless ones, come up to the room to demonstrate with a model what the components of the formula were may have helped capture the classes’ attention. Maybe having their partner check the diagram in their notebook for accuracy would have helped motivate students to be more complete with their note taking. Having a lesson that allows more freedom from the front of the room (such as using models instead of power point illustrations) may allow the teacher to move about the room and use proximity to encourage better behavior. Having students work in groups with models to demonstrate the formulas as the teacher circulated would have been more interesting for the students and allowed the teacher to access understanding and check on notebook accuracy. I think having the disruptive students closer to the front of the room (where the teacher spends the most time) would be a big improvement. I will be interested to find out if Student S has a new seat next week.
Courtney Parenteau
Westerly Middle School
CT: Erica Reid
Observation/Reflection #2: Eyes in the Back of Your Head: Observing Student Actions
From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
Observations: While Mrs. Reid is presenting the content most of the students are engaging in the discussion while some are distracted by things on their desks. To engage students during the whole group discussion, Mrs. Reid asks intriguing questions and she is constantly moving around the room. The students that are not engaged in the discussion are located on the extreme sides of the classroom. While the class is doing group work, all of the students are engaged in the activity. During group work, Mrs. Reid walks around the room to each group and helps where needed. Below is a map of the classroom, the red lines/arrows indicate Mrs. Reid's movement around the room.
Reflection:
It seems as though her movement around the room keeps the students on task. The students on the extreme sides of the classroom get distracted because Mrs. Reid cannot get to that side of the room easily. Each lab table has a box of supplies that the class commonly uses. Unfortunately, the box of supplies becomes a distraction when the students lose interest in the class. Perhaps the boxes should only be on the desks when they are in use. The students are engaged in group work because it is a change of pace and they are allowed to talk to their peers. Mrs. Reid also walks around the room which helps the students stay on task. Engaging students in the classroom is crucial. Not only does it facilitate learning, but it makes it more enjoyable. In my classroom, I will engage students by having several hooks that spark their interest. I also intend on having many hands on activities to keep the students active. It is also important for the teacher to move around the classroom to keep the students on task. My classroom will always be arranged in such a way to make that possible.
I was surprised to see how many students actually were on task during my CTs lesson. The only “off-task” behavior I witnessed was student’s zoning out a little bit but as soon as I or one of the teachers (this period is co-taught with the team’s special education teacher) would approach the student, they would return to their work. The class is arranged with two students per bench, with plenty of space between rows for my CT to walk up and down the aisles, which she does frequently. My CT rarely lectures in class and if she does it never takes up more than half of the 50 minute class period, so students are usually engaged in an actual activity and there are several transitions from one activity to another per period. During these transitional periods, as well as individual work times, it is expected that students will not be talking to each other and will remain on task.
I think the “proximity” trick works well in my CT’s class because she already has control over the room, so something as simple as moving closer to an off-task student is enough to remind them to get back to work. I also think that walking around the room is a helpful tool because it’s the only way to tell if students are “getting it” before they hand in their work. While I was very impressed by the behavior and maturity level my CT seems to bring out of these 7th grade students, again, I think their motivation is sometimes based more on not wanting to get in trouble than really being engaged in their work. Adding some of the engagement strategies in TLP to class would only help my CT’s lessons by increasing student’s intrinsic motivation and aiding their recall of topics covered in class at a later date. I also have mixed feelings about the class ‘norm’ of silence during all individual work. I think it is a great way to ensure students can concentrate and it also avoids the issues of possible cheating and elevated noise levels, but I also think that the sharing of ideas between students is crucial to their growth and development as learners. I think that if I am going to continue this norm when I take over in January, I will have to ensure that there is plenty of group and partner work involved in my lessons so students are allowed plenty of time to share with each other.
From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
In my middle school classroom at Gaudet Midde, the teacher (Mrs. Zahm) has her projection screen tv on the side of the classroom to encourage more students to pay attention and help facilitate learning. She has a clicker that she can walk around the room with to change powerpoint slides, play clips etc. This also allows Mrs. Zahm to make sure the students are taking the notes. The Students have a binder with a "glossary" for the vocabulary words for the notes and they have a science journal which is organized for labs and other procedures. Mrs. Zahm is constantly walking around checking to make sure students are taking notes in the right place and of the right things. When I observe the classroom in action, I can see what the students are doing when Mrs. Zahm is presenting. Many students are interested in the material and raise their hands quickly when she asks questions. Often, these are the same students over and over again. Some students are constantly talking and off topic but Mrs. Zahm is very quick to redirect them back to the material. The students have a "warm-up" activity to do when they walk in the classroom everyday and it is a simple paper exercise relating to the lesson of the day. This helps keep students occupied during class transition and gets the students thinking about what they are about to do and usually involves inquiry. This has to be monitored because once the students are done, they resort back to talking or fooling around. One girl in the class is a transfer student from Japan and struggles with her english. She has a small computer like device that she uses to translate her worksheets and that works best for her. She has a strong drive to learn which helps her learn the material and enhance her english skills. In every class Mrs. Zham has, there are about 2-3 students with either behavior problems or require a paraporfessional with them in class so they sit in the front left bench in the class so the paraprofessional can easily help them take notes and pay attention. When the class is working on a lab, the students seem to be more focused because they feel more responsibility. The lab I observed involved 9 different substances and how they interacted in small doses on a well plate. The students were to observe and record their observations and almost all students did what they were supposed to. During these activities, Mrs. Zahm and myself were walking around the classroom to see how the students were doing, if they had questions and encouraging higher thinking by asking questions about the lab. This helped keep students on track and since they knew we were walking around they were less inclined to fool around.
Mrs. Zahm is a well seasoned teacher so she knows well how to keep her students engaged and focused. When she is giving presentations and presenting new material she is walking around the room and trying to make connections between old and new material to help the students get it. When presenting new matieral she is constantly asking questions where students have to raise their hands, sometimes she asks students questions who do not have their hands raised. She encourages students to guess and hypothesise predictions and is always positively encouraging the students to take chances. She will build knowledge on what students say and ask them for examples. The classroom is set up into 8 lab benches with anywhere from 2-4 students at each bench. Mrs. Zahm walks around and through all of them as she presents or conducts labs. When she is using the tv screen to present, she will have the lights turned off in the room to encourage the focus to be geered to the tv screen. 7th graders are not very sneaky so when they are whispering or not paying attention it is pretty obvious so Mrs. Zahm will ask them to pay attention or walk closer to them and put her hand on their arm to encourage them to pay attention.
I find that when students are engaged they are more inclined to learn. The learning is not forced when they are engaged because they are enjoying the class. As a teacher, I want to encourage all students to want to be engaged in the class. I want the class to be interesting enough to students that they want to come to class. I will use a lot of differentiation in the class to help more students learn and incorporate activities and labs to keep students participating. I will use hooks in my lessons and encourage students to take guesses and use inquiry methods for students to deduce information. I like when a teacher walks around the room as they teach. I think it encourages students to pay attention and be more involved in the learning. Students are more likely to pay attention when the teacher is near them so I will absolutely use proximity as encouragement to pay attention and a method of classroom management. I will use more positive feedback and reinforcement to encourage good behavior and habits. I would rather point out when someone is participating and working hard than when someone is misbehaving in the class.
In this class, most of these students struggle academically. There are a few who work hard but just need a little extra help and there are a few who have no problem with this material, they just aren't motivated to take anything more difficult. In the block scheduling, my cooperating teacher usually stands at the front and presents the powerpoint for the first half of class and then passes out an activity paper for the second half. As he stands front and center and interacts with the outspoken students in the front row, he frequently attempts to draw answers from those who are sleeping in the back and those who are texting/eating to the far sides.
When it is my turn to teach, I will probably walk about the room more as I talk. The biggest limiting factor for this is that his smart-board does not have a remote and he has to walk back behind the front lab bench to hit the arrow to advance to the next slide.
I notice that one boy who sits in the corner struggles and gives up easily but he genuinely wants to contribute and help. When I said I was having trouble avoiding traffic on my way to school, he was so eager to find me a better route. He tries to answer questions but when he struggles and gets embarrassed, he shuts down and says "Nevermind." I get the feeling that his academic success is very different from teacher to teacher.
He is not alone, I found that while many of these kids have a hard time getting motivated to do work, they are in fact motivated by pleasing the teacher. I think that this could really be used to my advantage once student teaching begins.
Empty seats
Sleeping
Empty seats
Have trouble with material but can do work. Distracted by texting
Hard workers
Have trouble with material but can do work. Distracted by texting
Outspoken strugglers, laugh at material/don’t do work.
Observation/Reflection #2: Eyes in the Back of Your Head: Observing Student Actions
From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
During both of my previous visits I observed my cooperating teacher from the back of the classroom. She uses a variety of strategies to keep her students on-task and engaged during her lessons. She has her students' desks arranged in rows. During the lesson, she moves back and forth across the front of the classroom. Occasionally and when necessary (if she sees a student who is distracted or is misbehaving) she moves between the rows of desks or circulates around the perimeter of the room. She also calls on students and asks them to answer questions during class - this helps her keep them engaged. During one class period I observed, a particular student was misbehaving and distracting other students with comments and conversation. When he started to distract others, she would move closer to him and he would quiet down. He would also stop his misbehavior when she called on him to answer a question. He tended to misbehave with more confidence when she was farther away from him.
Teacher movement map:
Student engagement is very important to my view of how I will teach. I think that chemistry is a very difficult subject to understand without enthusiasm. If students are not engaged and enthusiastic while in a chemistry class, they will not leave with the intended and required depth of content knowledge. Having a well-designed and attention-grabbing lesson is an excellent method for keeping students on-task and engaged. Students who are truly interested in the content of the lesson are much less likely to misbehave. In this case, proximity and other related strategies can be used as regulatory tools instead of being heavily relied upon. Proximity is an effective tool for providing feedback and managing behavior, but a teacher should not be walking over to a particular student's desk all the time with the expectation that this will change the student's behavior. When overused, proximity loses effectiveness. When teaching, I plan to use proximity sparingly and rely on other strategies, such as detailed planning, to keep students engaged and well-behaved.
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
Mr Zabel's two Biology I classes I observed vary greatly from each other. It seems as though all of the quiet students got grouped together in a small classroom during second period. His last period class is his larger class with over half the class being as my high school teacher labeled me, motor mouths. The day I visited he introduced acids and bases and expected the class to read about them for homework and then they would do a lab. His first class all listened intently while he went over the notes on the board. Some took additional notes on the notes they took for homework, filling in the parts they missed, while others just wrote down what they were told to do. There was little talking and goofing off. Last period was a whole different environment. The class size was large and he had already separated a few students giving them assigned seats. While he went over the notes there were many people talking, some complained about how he didn't check the homework because they did it, and others were complaining they already learned this form the homework. He had them make a table. When he did this his first period class didn't bat and eye, however in this class one student decided he needed a ruler, which progressed into every one needed a ruler.
When Mr. Zabel teaches he sits at the front of the classroom so he can control the computer. He doesn't walk around unless the notes do not need to be moved. The classroom is in rows and he walks the outside square. When it was time to do the lab he had them move from their desks to lab benches on the outside of the room. While working on the lab both Mr. Zabel and I floated from bench to bench. He sat with each bench at least twice, always making sure they were on task.
Because I can't sit and take notes for an entire hour without talking or questions, as seen in college classes, it is very important to my teaching that student be engaged. Whether it be questions to get them thinking or putting them in small groups. I used to hate group work but now I see how my ideas grow from working with a group and having the ability to bounce ideas off each other generating new ones. I prefer a modified KWL chart where the students work as a group to list when they know about a particular topic and what they want to learn or have questions about. This gets the students talking about the topic and it allows me to know what I really need to focus on in the lesson. However, with group works comes the ability for students to get off topics very quick. In college, I still do it. It makes me aware that the teacher must constantly be walking around and aware of which groups aren't using the time to work on the assignment. I know that the second a teacher is behind me I need to stop talking about whatever it is that I am and get back on topic. I've been in classrooms where teachers left us to group work and sat at the front of the room which let me talk to my groupmates about whatever I wanted. For group work to do its job a teacher must constantly be moving from group to group, and as much as I hated it being done to me, calling out those students that keep talking.
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?Observation at high school placement.
Lesson: Guided review of cell structures and organelles, based on a narrated filmstrip. Students have worksheets with spaces for structure, function, location. Teacher must stand at filmstrip projector to advance the narrator. Images are all static micrographs. Teacher stops the filmstrip every 30 seconds or so as narrator describes new organelle and dictates notes that students copy to worksheet.
Projector was not set up when students arrive. Teacher asks a student to set up while she takes attendance and deals with hall pass requests. Students delay filling seats and interact until chided by teacher. One student takes another’s lunch and puts it into the classroom refrigerator, unnoticed by teacher. She does notice when the second student tries to retrieve his lunch and tells him not to open the fridge. He tries to explain but she refuses to listen. He simply waits until she is distracted again and opens the fridge and takes his lunch.
Students seem to take little interest in copying down the material, but do so apathetically. Late arrivals are lost, having missed the first several notes; instruction to the whole class stops as the teacher helps them catch up. This delay increases the restlessness of some students. Quiet conversations rise in volume. Teacher does attempt to make connections to prior knowledge or relevant experience, but these are limited to structural similarities (“these look like pancakes” “these look like tubes”). She occasionally moves to the screen to point out details. The students are generally respectful and complete their seatwork, but it is a dry, dry class. The teacher’s only movement is to the screen and back to the projector, since she must manually control it. All requests for responses are to the entire class, and call outs are accepted. Thus the same students seem to always respond.
I plan on avoiding the death drone by moving about the class. The images would certainly be available online, and could be presented in Power Point, with a clicker, allowing the teacher to move about the room – as long as they had the information in hand. No call outs would be permitted. Students would be asked by name to respond to my questions. Students would be told they might be called on next, and to pay attention. Row identity would be fostered, so correct answers would create positive gains for the group the student belonged to. Since I would be moving about the room, physical proximity would allow me to monitor student effort and reduce unproductive interactions.
Observation/Reflection #2: Eyes in the Back of Your Head: Observing Student Actions
From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher. What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement. How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?Today, I was put in a very good position to complete this journal. I alternately sat in the back of class watching a video or class business being conducted, observed and graded during a test period, and got to see how different classes acted together in an entirely different setting. All in all, out of the many middle school placements I have been in, I can say this is a great team of teachers and students. Despite being young adolescents, every single student I met was friendly and respectful--to everyone. Each class I observed knew and followed class procedure without being asked; if they were misbehaving and were reprimanded, the student would immediately get back on task and try to focus. If the lights were off and the video was on, the room was quiet. There wasn’t even any sort of degradation of behavior as you got towards the back of the room away from my CT. If anything, my CT walks around and checks in enough with her students to discourage any sort of bad behavior. The worst thing her classes do on a regular basis (according to the CT) is losing all the handouts she gives them, even when she three-hole punches them and requires a binder with dividers and allows them time in class to get organized. She was anything but stationary, walking in with her class, to a private desk to get materials, to the podium, in front of the podium, and weaving in and out of the tables and desks. While she was doing this, she was handing back work and giving general feedback as to the quality; it seems as though most of the class is working well with the material, but handwriting is an issue. If they were taking a test, she walked around to meet with students who needed clarification. During the video, she watched with them and asked questions, as it was on a topic they had just finished.
A special sort of class activity happened today as well. My CT and the social studies teacher on the team decided to bring their students outside for twenty minutes to get some fresh air and get rid of energy after testing all morning. They all were quiet and orderly walking through the halls, even maintaining control once they were out of the school and on the tennis courts. This was key, as we unexpectedly encountered the superintendent and the vice superintendent walking through the halls on the way to a meeting; on the spot, we decided this activity was for team building. So we ran relays. The teachers even participated on their class’s team, which was awesome.
I think the key to managing a class is keeping students interested and engaged, as Teach Like a Pirate stresses. My students being engaged is very important to me; I know they’re required to attend my class, but that doesn’t give me the right to waste their time. And if they are not going to like science, or even appreciate it, the least I can do is build a good rapport and plan interesting activities. My CT demonstrated some good ways to keep students engaged, like not staying still while discussing things, or even when they are doing quiet independent work. Managing to keep a whole class interested during an outdated video is possible if you're willing to blur the teacher/student lines and participate with your students:watch the video, point out cool things, and soon. If I’m checking in individually with students, I can direct feedback based on both performance and behavior as soon as possible.When combined with respect, engagement can really drive the atmosphere of the classroom, as well student behavior. I was surprised how happy all the students at this middle school seemed and how inclusive students were to each other if someone looked sad or left out; I attribute this to the consistent good behavior of all classes I saw today. The team community also seemed strong, as this was consistent even when the number of kids doubled and you took away all the structure a classroom has.
Location: Lincoln Middle School
Class: 6th grade general science
Date of Visit: September 30, 2013
Observation/Reflection #2: Eyes in the Back of Your Head: Observing Student Actions
From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
Observation:
The way the classroom in which I observed is arranged, there is little room in the back of the classroom. I instead took a seat off to the side in the front of the room. However, because of the layout of the room, I could still see all the students in the classroom. At the beginning of the class, students worked diligently on their warm-up exercise until they were finished. Some of the students who finished early sat quietly and patiently, but others started to fidget and doodle in their notebooks. They were not, however, disruptive to others. When the teacher reviewed the answers to the exercise, all of the students were paying rapt attention and correcting any mistakes on their papers with their correcting pens. After this warm-up, the students watch a brief video introduction to their next laboratory exercise regarding paper planes. While most of the students paid attention to the video clip, a couple of girls in the very back of the room began to whisper to one another. The teacher did not notice this activity going on, but the video clip was less than three minutes long so the misbehavior did not last for an extended period of time. The teacher then explained the purpose of the laboratory exercises, and the students filled out a laboratory report packet with a purpose statement and background information. During this activity, the teacher moved about the room answering student questions and regulating any misbehavior that occurred. In general, the students were very well-behaved and stayed on task. Either than a few comments out of turn here and there, the overall behavior of the class was outstanding.
Reflection:
Student engagement is crucial to my view of how I will teach. As I have mentioned in past written assignments for this course, my goal as a teacher is to keep students engaged and actively learning at all times, from the beginning of the period until the end. This does not mean conducting a boring lecture from the time the first bell rings until the time the second bell dismisses them. I hope to keep students engaged by involving them in fun, interesting, and exciting laboratory activities that help them to learn important scientific concepts while also enjoying being in my class. In order to encourage student engagement, I will use these activities to vary my instruction so as not to make my class boring or predictable. I also aim to be just as involved with the activities as the students are, circulating through the classroom working with individual students or small groups in order to simultaneously manage classroom behavior and supplement my instruction in an informal, personal manner. The most successful teachers that I have observed have employed these techniques and the students have almost always responded well. I hope to one day emulate my cooperating teacher and those others who practice a teaching philosophy that is similar to mine.
During this visit I observed that my CT controls his room more in the lack of rules enforcement than in a strict adherence. My CT has one Golden rule don't talk when he's talking/ teaching. There are other rules, cell phones may be either out on the desk or put away in a pocket or backpack, this one gets violated most often mostly by students in the back rows of the room. My CT stays at the front of the room when he is giving a content lecture. He is more mobile and keeps active tabs on students during group work. For the most part students are on task when working in groups. If they aren't a simple word that what they are doing or discussing is not biology will get them back on task in the short term anyway. My CT engages his students with a video clip, website or question for them to find the answer for about the content that ties it to their lives. He is very much a " I don't want to be the heavy duty rules enforcer". He avoids putting himself in situations where he would need to chaperon school dances and outings. It's not that he doesn't care about the kids he just almost wants to be their friend as well as their teacher..
For the way that I hope to teach engaging the students is very important to me. It is my hope that we can become partners in the learning journey. This is something that I don't feel from my CT. He cares about his students but to me it feels like his passion is gone. I plan to use my proximity and feedback to praise students who are doing good work, and to give a gentle "reminder" to those who have gotten off task to return to it.
School: Westerly High School
CT: Mrs. Malone
Class: Honors Bio, Juniors
Observation: The students in Mrs. Malone’s class are generally well behaved and pay attention to what she is saying. Twice I noticed students taking out their phones, but both times they just checked something for a second and then immediately put it back in their pocket before I could say something to them. The one time a student was on his phone for a prolonged time Mrs. Malone asked him, “What is so important on your phone?” The student looked embarrassed and quickly replied, “Nothing more important than what you are teaching, sorry.” Other than that, the only distractions I noticed was the students getting slightly off topic while they were doing lab work. However, they would only talk about non-science related things while they were waiting for tests to finish. They also continued to do other work while they chatted. Furthermore, many students volunteered information when Mrs. Malone would ask a question, and took pride in getting the correct answers.
While observing I did not notice my CT using any special strategies to keep the students engaged, because the students were generally engaged already. The one time Mrs. Malone had to get a student back on track she did not even have to tell the student to stop using his phone, but instead simply pointed out that she knew he was on the phone. Mrs. Malone did not utilize the whole class space during her more lecture centric lesson. Instead she stayed in the front of the room, but did pace back and forth, never sitting down. During the lab portion of the class, she did circulate the room, checking on each group in turn.
Reflection: I was very surprised at how engaged the students of Mrs. Malone’s class were. In my past experience there were always at least two or three kids who blatantly did not pay attention. This was not the case in Mrs. Malone’s class, where even students who got distracted did not stay distracted for more than a moment. Perhaps the reason for this is that I was observing one of her honors class. I would expect that if I had observed her CP class on that day they would not have been as well behaved, though they may be as engaged also. The students of her elective were just as focused as the students in her honors bio class. Also, I do not think Mrs. Malone was wrong in her decision to not circulate the whole class for her lecture. The way her class is set up, there are only two rows of tables that have students at them and they are both close to the front of the room where Mrs. Malone was teaching.
In my opinion, student engagement is extremely important. I want my class to be comfortable enough with each other so that class discussions are a common occurrence. To facilitate this, I will use a technique that I have seen often at college, including in this class. I will occasionally arrange all of the seats in the class in a circle and have a class discussion. In this way the students can become more comfortable with each other, and it will also be much easier to see if a student is not paying attention. To encourage student participation I will utilize humor to poke fun at students I catch not paying attention. However, humor can only go so far, and if the student persists with the negative behavior more serious measures will need to be taken. Also, I will arrange my class in a way that lets me walk around the room as I teach. I feel that if the teacher walks close to each student throughout the lesson, it will encourage students to pay attention, as opposed to if the teacher is never close to the students in the back of the room.
Observation/Reflection #2: Eyes in the Back of Your Head: Observing Student Actions
From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
Barrington Middle School
Mr. Borgueta
General Science Grade 7
Observation:
As soon as students enter Mr. Borgueta’s classroom they understand what the expectations and classroom norms are. They walk in, get settled and start their 3-2-1 assignment, which is usually a question or two to get the students oriented to the topic. Throughout this time there may be a little movement and a little noise. However, for the most part all students are focused with their heads down and a pencil in hand writing. If any of the students are struggling to follow the classroom norm, Mr. Borgueta quickly redirects them to the task. After about 5 to 7 minutes he discusses the 3-2-1 assignment. He asked questions for students to answer and more than 50% of the class raised their hands to participate. Once this concluded, he had students work in groups of four to design a slingshot experiment. As students were busy working on the lab he called them up individually to provide them with feedback from a previous assignment. Once the last student’s paper was handed out I observed Mr. Borgueta walking around the classroom to each table to read what student’s were writing in their notebooks and to correct any mistake he saw. The pattern below is approximately the type of paths he can take to check student’s work. Although the arrows point in one direction, Mr. Borgeuta could be found moving around either way up and down the aisles.
Reflection:
For Mr. Borgueta’s classroom not many strategies besides a quick reminder of the task is necessary to keep students on track. This is because from day 1 he has set up a classroom norm that while in his class students are going to work hard. By managing the class in this way from day 1 a culture has been made where students expect to work in his class and are okay with this. However, this is not just an all work no play type of classroom. If students work hard Mr. Borgueta will give them some time off at the end to get ready for their next class or to chat with each other. Additionally, the more work students can accomplish through the written part of the lab, the sooner students get to go outside and test their slingshot apparatuses for their experiment. It is the combination of a culture based on hard work mixed with fun activities that Mr. Borgueta engages his students. At no point have I heard “man this stinks” or “why do we have to do this.” Even though Mr. Borgueta isn’t dressing up for his students, they still get their work done and have fun. I find that student engagement is key to teaching. Without engagement students will not pay attention and if this occurs then they are not learning. Therefore, I hope to manage my classroom in a similar way with this combination of a culture and engaging activities for students to do. For my classroom, I would like to employ many different strategies to encourage student engagement. Having students perform hands on labs, playing different and yet engaging videos, and creating lessons that smoothly transition from one part to the next are just a few strategies. Additionally, I could possibly bring in outside resources, (scientists or those in a similar field to my topic) as well as go on field trips to make those real world connections. By moving around the room and making sure all students are understanding the material presented is how I will use my proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior. Essentially, I would like to make my classroom a student oriented classroom where students know I want them to succeed.
From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
Observation:
I watched Ms. Maillet in her Urban Ecology course. Ms. M's class was set up in columns of benches as she was testing in other classes; she normally keeps the class in groups. Ms. M spoke from the front of the room for a short while before assigning the students to group work. While Ms. M was talking and lecturing to start the class most of her students in the left column, center (up to the 2nd row) as well as a group in the right column that sat close to the front were sitting intently and paying attention. There were two girls in the very back of the center row not paying attention, sharing a small conversation while snacking on some chips. The two boys in front of them as well as a boy in the right column weren't really paying much attention and kept having a side conversation. Ms. M tried to redirect one of them in particular, but this only was a quick fix as he would quickly pick up where he left off. Once Ms. M left them with seat work to do things unraveled a bit further. The seat work was to be done in groups. Most of the groups ended up having conversations off topic. Some students began pulling out snacks, cell phones, and mp3 players. The one group that was most attentive (later found out they were honors students) ended up getting the work done and talked among themselves. Some students simply never transitioned into group work. Ms. M responded to this by eventually approaching the groups and seeing if they needed further help. Otherwise, as kids finished up or for those that decided not to do any work, they broke off into small conversations, further snacks, and further texting or gaming on their cell phones.
Reflection:
I view student engagement very highly in how I want to approach teaching. This was the first time in a high school observation and this made me fairly nervous as it conflicted with my opinion of how the classroom should be managed. At PHS, eating and using the cell phone isn't allowed in the classroom. The fact that Ms. M only made feeble attempts to stop her students from this (saying one needs to pick their battles sometimes) and letting it go for the most part was a bit concerning. I didn't like how the situation was controlled and wonder how it will effect once I take over the following semester. This was an elective course however and I most likely won't be placed in charge of it. I am hoping her other courses aren't like it. To encourage student engagement I plan to use Do Nows, try to incorporate hooks, have classroom expectations known as well as what happens when they aren't followed, as well as use techniques like proximity and monitoring to lower the likelihood of students from acting out. I like the idea of using proximity as it can be more subtle. The classroom seems to be set up in two distinct ways, either groups or columns. When in columns the classroom is difficult to walk around and utilize proximity. However, when in groups it can be easily navigated and used properly.
Visit #2
October 2, 2013Chariho Middle School
CT: Stephen Cormier
7th/8th Grade Science
Observation/Reflection #2: Eyes in the Back of Your Head: Observing Student Actions
From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
Observation:
On my second visit to my middle school cooperating teacher, class periods were shortened due to NECAP testing and each class only had time for one activity. The seventh graders made hypotheses regarding the classic demonstration of a hot soda can being put into an ice bath. The eighth graders reviewed use of topographical maps as a warm-up and then began drawing diagrams of other things that demonstrate one of the six forces investigated in the six stations from last week. As my cooperating teacher led discussions or explained directions, he was very active and continually moving about the room. In this way, students were never isolated in the back of the classroom for long. All the students quietly wrote in their science notebooks or contributed to the discussion, from those in the back to the ones up near the front. Anytime a student was distanced from the teacher, postures were more slumped but they still paid attention. Some quiet side conversations occurred, and one boy was reading a book, but all instances were quickly stopped by my cooperating teacher, demonstrating his "withitness" and effective classroom management.
Reflection:
My cooperating teacher uses technology (primarily a Smart Board) and various demonstrations to engage his students into the content of the lesson. Warm-ups and homework are easily pulled up on to the screen and reviewed right in front of the class. If my cooperating teacher wants to illustrate a point or write ideas, he can like a traditional board. During discussions he is continually moving around, talking at each table and to most students. My cooperating teacher will ask questions about concepts to help recall or ask students what they think in order to asses student knowledge. I love the idea of a conversational flow in a whole-class discussion. I want students to feel like participants and the doers for where we need to go in a lesson. As a future teacher, I want to facilitate and not dictate, similar to what my cooperating teach accomplishes with his students.
Part of his questions came after a demonstration. This was done so he could discover and clear up possible misconceptions. The demonstration provided a paradigm changing experience for students with preconceived notions about items going from very hot to very cold in a short period of time. By clearing up student misconceptions prior to the demonstration and connecting the experience to new knowledge of air density and atmospheric pressure, my cooperating teacher facilitated the construction of new knowledge for his students, like what was suggested in "Taking Science to School."
My cooperating teacher may be confined to science kits and middle school curriculum, and therefore does not have the range of freedom in creativity like David Burgess in "Teach Like a Pirate," but he is still able to reach all his students and provide engaging lessons. And if students are not engaged in what they are learning, they are not gaining learning experiences.
Classroom Diagram:
Yellow = door
Blue = student seat
Green = teacher area (desk, lab bench, storage)
Black = board (either chalk board or SmartBoard)
Purple = CT's path around classroom (asterisks mark start and finish)
Deborah Husak
Observation/Reflection #2: Eyes in the Back of Your Head: Observing Student Actions
From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
The second class of the day is 10th grade college preparatory biology. I observed a lesson introducing the properties of water molecules, acids and bases. The CT was in the front of the room for most of the lesson. The students came in and sat in new seating which they had chosen earlier in the week. The front of the classroom had three large tables with 8 chairs around each table. A group of 8 boys sat in the table farthest from the teacher. Only 5 students sat in the middle and another 7 (boys and girls) sat around the third table. I sat behind the all boys table which was farthest from the teacher.
The material was new to most of the students yet vital to their understanding of much of the content for the rest of the year. The CT wanted students to have accurate diagrams in their science notebooks depicting the chemical formulas of water, acids and bases, and their ions. She spent the lesson at the front of the room showing the students molecular diagrams of each example and having them copy them into their notebooks. She frequently cued the students about specific information that needed to be in their notebooks. Most of the class remained engaged except for the two boys sitting farthest from the CT at the end of the group table directly in front of me. Student S was restless for most of the lecture. He frequently did not follow the directions of the CT such as putting accurate chemical names on the diagrams. He was the only one to leave the room to use the bathroom after asking permission twice (the first time was denied because the CT was explaining a process to the class). He frequently picked up the ruler he had been given (for making lines in his science notebook) and struck his friend with it. The other student next to him reminded him that he was not being respectful but he continued his behaviors. After class, I asked my CT to tell me about student S. She knew that he had been restless and was considering changing his seat but also said that he had scored one of the highest grades on their last quiz.
Student engagement is critical to their understanding of the content. I hope to engage students by making the content as interesting as possible. Sometimes the goal may not be as amendable to fun as other classes. The lesson on acids and bases was needed to make sure every student had the prerequisite knowledge for an upcoming lab. Unfortunately, this lesson did not have a lot of variety and students were getting restless toward the end. I think one way to keep all students engaged could have been to involve students more in the giving of the lesson. Having students, especially restless ones, come up to the room to demonstrate with a model what the components of the formula were may have helped capture the classes’ attention. Maybe having their partner check the diagram in their notebook for accuracy would have helped motivate students to be more complete with their note taking. Having a lesson that allows more freedom from the front of the room (such as using models instead of power point illustrations) may allow the teacher to move about the room and use proximity to encourage better behavior. Having students work in groups with models to demonstrate the formulas as the teacher circulated would have been more interesting for the students and allowed the teacher to access understanding and check on notebook accuracy. I think having the disruptive students closer to the front of the room (where the teacher spends the most time) would be a big improvement. I will be interested to find out if Student S has a new seat next week.
Courtney Parenteau
Westerly Middle School
CT: Erica Reid
Observation/Reflection #2: Eyes in the Back of Your Head: Observing Student Actions
From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
Observations:
While Mrs. Reid is presenting the content most of the students are engaging in the discussion while some are distracted by things on their desks. To engage students during the whole group discussion, Mrs. Reid asks intriguing questions and she is constantly moving around the room. The students that are not engaged in the discussion are located on the extreme sides of the classroom. While the class is doing group work, all of the students are engaged in the activity. During group work, Mrs. Reid walks around the room to each group and helps where needed. Below is a map of the classroom, the red lines/arrows indicate Mrs. Reid's movement around the room.
Reflection:
It seems as though her movement around the room keeps the students on task. The students on the extreme sides of the classroom get distracted because Mrs. Reid cannot get to that side of the room easily. Each lab table has a box of supplies that the class commonly uses. Unfortunately, the box of supplies becomes a distraction when the students lose interest in the class. Perhaps the boxes should only be on the desks when they are in use. The students are engaged in group work because it is a change of pace and they are allowed to talk to their peers. Mrs. Reid also walks around the room which helps the students stay on task. Engaging students in the classroom is crucial. Not only does it facilitate learning, but it makes it more enjoyable. In my classroom, I will engage students by having several hooks that spark their interest. I also intend on having many hands on activities to keep the students active. It is also important for the teacher to move around the classroom to keep the students on task. My classroom will always be arranged in such a way to make that possible.
I was surprised to see how many students actually were on task during my CTs lesson. The only “off-task” behavior I witnessed was student’s zoning out a little bit but as soon as I or one of the teachers (this period is co-taught with the team’s special education teacher) would approach the student, they would return to their work. The class is arranged with two students per bench, with plenty of space between rows for my CT to walk up and down the aisles, which she does frequently. My CT rarely lectures in class and if she does it never takes up more than half of the 50 minute class period, so students are usually engaged in an actual activity and there are several transitions from one activity to another per period. During these transitional periods, as well as individual work times, it is expected that students will not be talking to each other and will remain on task.
I think the “proximity” trick works well in my CT’s class because she already has control over the room, so something as simple as moving closer to an off-task student is enough to remind them to get back to work. I also think that walking around the room is a helpful tool because it’s the only way to tell if students are “getting it” before they hand in their work. While I was very impressed by the behavior and maturity level my CT seems to bring out of these 7th grade students, again, I think their motivation is sometimes based more on not wanting to get in trouble than really being engaged in their work. Adding some of the engagement strategies in TLP to class would only help my CT’s lessons by increasing student’s intrinsic motivation and aiding their recall of topics covered in class at a later date. I also have mixed feelings about the class ‘norm’ of silence during all individual work. I think it is a great way to ensure students can concentrate and it also avoids the issues of possible cheating and elevated noise levels, but I also think that the sharing of ideas between students is crucial to their growth and development as learners. I think that if I am going to continue this norm when I take over in January, I will have to ensure that there is plenty of group and partner work involved in my lessons so students are allowed plenty of time to share with each other.
From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.
What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
In my middle school classroom at Gaudet Midde, the teacher (Mrs. Zahm) has her projection screen tv on the side of the classroom to encourage more students to pay attention and help facilitate learning. She has a clicker that she can walk around the room with to change powerpoint slides, play clips etc. This also allows Mrs. Zahm to make sure the students are taking the notes. The Students have a binder with a "glossary" for the vocabulary words for the notes and they have a science journal which is organized for labs and other procedures. Mrs. Zahm is constantly walking around checking to make sure students are taking notes in the right place and of the right things. When I observe the classroom in action, I can see what the students are doing when Mrs. Zahm is presenting. Many students are interested in the material and raise their hands quickly when she asks questions. Often, these are the same students over and over again. Some students are constantly talking and off topic but Mrs. Zahm is very quick to redirect them back to the material. The students have a "warm-up" activity to do when they walk in the classroom everyday and it is a simple paper exercise relating to the lesson of the day. This helps keep students occupied during class transition and gets the students thinking about what they are about to do and usually involves inquiry. This has to be monitored because once the students are done, they resort back to talking or fooling around. One girl in the class is a transfer student from Japan and struggles with her english. She has a small computer like device that she uses to translate her worksheets and that works best for her. She has a strong drive to learn which helps her learn the material and enhance her english skills. In every class Mrs. Zham has, there are about 2-3 students with either behavior problems or require a paraporfessional with them in class so they sit in the front left bench in the class so the paraprofessional can easily help them take notes and pay attention. When the class is working on a lab, the students seem to be more focused because they feel more responsibility. The lab I observed involved 9 different substances and how they interacted in small doses on a well plate. The students were to observe and record their observations and almost all students did what they were supposed to. During these activities, Mrs. Zahm and myself were walking around the classroom to see how the students were doing, if they had questions and encouraging higher thinking by asking questions about the lab. This helped keep students on track and since they knew we were walking around they were less inclined to fool around.
Mrs. Zahm is a well seasoned teacher so she knows well how to keep her students engaged and focused. When she is giving presentations and presenting new material she is walking around the room and trying to make connections between old and new material to help the students get it. When presenting new matieral she is constantly asking questions where students have to raise their hands, sometimes she asks students questions who do not have their hands raised. She encourages students to guess and hypothesise predictions and is always positively encouraging the students to take chances. She will build knowledge on what students say and ask them for examples. The classroom is set up into 8 lab benches with anywhere from 2-4 students at each bench. Mrs. Zahm walks around and through all of them as she presents or conducts labs. When she is using the tv screen to present, she will have the lights turned off in the room to encourage the focus to be geered to the tv screen. 7th graders are not very sneaky so when they are whispering or not paying attention it is pretty obvious so Mrs. Zahm will ask them to pay attention or walk closer to them and put her hand on their arm to encourage them to pay attention.
I find that when students are engaged they are more inclined to learn. The learning is not forced when they are engaged because they are enjoying the class. As a teacher, I want to encourage all students to want to be engaged in the class. I want the class to be interesting enough to students that they want to come to class. I will use a lot of differentiation in the class to help more students learn and incorporate activities and labs to keep students participating. I will use hooks in my lessons and encourage students to take guesses and use inquiry methods for students to deduce information. I like when a teacher walks around the room as they teach. I think it encourages students to pay attention and be more involved in the learning. Students are more likely to pay attention when the teacher is near them so I will absolutely use proximity as encouragement to pay attention and a method of classroom management. I will use more positive feedback and reinforcement to encourage good behavior and habits. I would rather point out when someone is participating and working hard than when someone is misbehaving in the class.
In this class, most of these students struggle academically. There are a few who work hard but just need a little extra help and there are a few who have no problem with this material, they just aren't motivated to take anything more difficult. In the block scheduling, my cooperating teacher usually stands at the front and presents the powerpoint for the first half of class and then passes out an activity paper for the second half. As he stands front and center and interacts with the outspoken students in the front row, he frequently attempts to draw answers from those who are sleeping in the back and those who are texting/eating to the far sides.
When it is my turn to teach, I will probably walk about the room more as I talk. The biggest limiting factor for this is that his smart-board does not have a remote and he has to walk back behind the front lab bench to hit the arrow to advance to the next slide.
I notice that one boy who sits in the corner struggles and gives up easily but he genuinely wants to contribute and help. When I said I was having trouble avoiding traffic on my way to school, he was so eager to find me a better route. He tries to answer questions but when he struggles and gets embarrassed, he shuts down and says "Nevermind." I get the feeling that his academic success is very different from teacher to teacher.
He is not alone, I found that while many of these kids have a hard time getting motivated to do work, they are in fact motivated by pleasing the teacher. I think that this could really be used to my advantage once student teaching begins.
Distracted by texting
Distracted by texting
Observation/Reflection #2: Eyes in the Back of Your Head: Observing Student Actions
From a seat in the rear of the room, observe your students and take notes on what they are doing while the teacher is presenting in the front of the room, while they are supposed to be taking notes, doing seatwork, and/or when they are working in the lab. Look closely at each student for a range of behaviors, and resist the temptation on only see what you expect. Note especially what is happening furthest from the teacher.What strategies are used by your CT to encourage students to attend and engage? Watch carefully how your CT moves around the room. Draw a map of the classroom and sketch a path showing (approximately) this movement.
How important is student engagement to your view of how you will teach? What strategies will you employ to encourage student engagement? How will use your proximity to provide feedback and manage student behavior?
During both of my previous visits I observed my cooperating teacher from the back of the classroom. She uses a variety of strategies to keep her students on-task and engaged during her lessons. She has her students' desks arranged in rows. During the lesson, she moves back and forth across the front of the classroom. Occasionally and when necessary (if she sees a student who is distracted or is misbehaving) she moves between the rows of desks or circulates around the perimeter of the room. She also calls on students and asks them to answer questions during class - this helps her keep them engaged. During one class period I observed, a particular student was misbehaving and distracting other students with comments and conversation. When he started to distract others, she would move closer to him and he would quiet down. He would also stop his misbehavior when she called on him to answer a question. He tended to misbehave with more confidence when she was farther away from him.
Teacher movement map:
Student engagement is very important to my view of how I will teach. I think that chemistry is a very difficult subject to understand without enthusiasm. If students are not engaged and enthusiastic while in a chemistry class, they will not leave with the intended and required depth of content knowledge. Having a well-designed and attention-grabbing lesson is an excellent method for keeping students on-task and engaged. Students who are truly interested in the content of the lesson are much less likely to misbehave. In this case, proximity and other related strategies can be used as regulatory tools instead of being heavily relied upon. Proximity is an effective tool for providing feedback and managing behavior, but a teacher should not be walking over to a particular student's desk all the time with the expectation that this will change the student's behavior. When overused, proximity loses effectiveness. When teaching, I plan to use proximity sparingly and rely on other strategies, such as detailed planning, to keep students engaged and well-behaved.